Line spacing guide



p 1949- c. F. MERRIMAN LINE SPACING GUIDE Filed Jan. 29, 1946 Ex Fm Chester F METTim vENTQ an: L5 00 mn a Patented Apr. 26, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LINE SPACING GUIDE Chester F. Merriman, New York, N. Y.

Application January 29, 1946, Serial No. 644,092

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to line spacing guides, and more particularly to such guides constructed and arranged for association with scribing devices which are adapted to be operated to form lines. These lines may be spaced-apart, paralleling lines of indicia, as letters, figures and the like, as may be formed by the device disclosed in U. S. Patent 2,011,195, granted August 13, 1935, to Adolf W. Keuifel.

In the use of such devices, it is often difiicult to accurately space apart, and in parallelism, lines of indicia disposed below or above the initial line of indicia inscribed by the device. Results prove that, by depending solely upon the eye for proper spacing, the lines are very often unequally spaced apart. In the event bits of paper are marked and employed as guides, or

the indicia, if wet, of the inscribed initial line or subsequently inscribed lines.

Another important object is to provide such a guide wherein those portions of the guide, which i are closely adjacent a line of indicia which may still be wet, are suitably raised above the surface containing this indicia, but those portions of the novel guide which are employed to guide the placing of marks to indicate to the operator where K the scribing device should be moved, are closely adjacent the surface, so that errors in positions of the marking instrument due to slanting of that instrument will not be possible, insomuch as the instruments scribing point when placing the marks mentioned will be close to the last-named portions of the guide.

Other objects and advantages of the invention "will be apparent during the course of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,

forming a part of this specification, and in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan'of the novel guide, associated with a scribing device, shown somewhat diagmammatically, in order to illustrate therespective positions of the two.

igures '2 and 3 are enlarged transverse sections of the novel guide, taken upon their respective lines in Figure 1'.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the guide, taken upon the line 44 of Figure 1,

which intersects an anti-skid means forming'a part of the guide.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary transverse section through a modified form of the guide, being somewhat similar to the section shown in Figure "2.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose'of illustration is shown a preferred and a modified form of the invention, the letter A designates ascribing device; B, the preferred form of the novel guide and, C, a modified form thereof.

The scribing device A, shown somewhat diagrammatically in Figure 1 and illustrated and described in U. S. Patent 2,011,195, referred to above, includes an elongated template [0, having a substantially straight lower edge H, a longitudinally-extending groove l2 in its upper face I Hi into which groove extends the tail pin l4carried at one end of a body member l5,'whichbody member is provided with two arms I6 and I Tat its end opposite the first-named end. The lower arm !6 carries adepending tracer pin 18 adapted to ride along the character grooves. For purposes of illustration the dot-and-dash line =20 represents the base or bottommost lines of the characters inked by the pen mentioned, when the scribing device A is positioned as shown -in Figure 1.

The novel guide B includes a substantially fiat, elongated body portion or straight edge 25 carrying' guide mark means 26, and anti-skid means material, as a hardened plastic.

The guide mark means 26 is of major'importance and includes preferably two pairs'of elongated guide arms or spars 35 and 35 extending transversely of the straight edge 25, spaced inwardly of the end edges thereof with the member 35 extending beyond the upper edge 2'! and the member 36 extending beyond the lower edge 28 thereofas may be seen in Figures 1 and 2. The arm 35 is disposed upon and suitably secured to the upper face 3% of the straight edge and the arm 36 is disposed upon and suitably secured to the lower face 3!. An adhesive may-beemployed for this purpose or, if the arms "35 and 36 are of hardened plastic material withsubstantially the same properties as those of the material of the straight edge, the material may be locally softened, as by heat or by a solvent, and the arms 35 and 36 thereupon disposed in place for the material to again harden.

It will be noted in Figure 2 that the arm 35 is, preferably, superposed with respect to a portion of the arm 33 and that both may be substantially the same width.

The arm 35 preferably carries, at its outermost end (which terminates in a transverse edge 31, substantially normal to its longitudinal edges 38 and 39) a downturned or depending portion 40 shown in Figure 2 for a purpose later detailed.

With reference to the arm or spar 36, this arm is provided with substantially straight, paralleling side edges 4| and 42 and an outer transverse edge 43 substantially normal thereto. The edges 4| and 42 are provided with suitable spaced-apart recesses or indentations, such as those designated as 44 to inclusive, in Figure l. Preferably, these are V-shaped.

The guide mark means 26 may also include a guide arm or spar 52, disposed at the center of the straight edge upon the face 30. This spar 52 is pivoted to the straight edge by the pivot pin 53 extending through a perforation 54 in the straight edge, and the position of the pivot is such that, when it is extended normal to the longitudinal axis of the straight edge, as shown in dots-and-dashes in Figure 1, its outer edge 55 will be in the same plane as that of the edges 3'! of the two arms or spars 35. The full line position of the arm 52 shows it swung out of the way of .the scribing device A. Its function will be subsequently described.

The anti-skid means 21 includes a plurality of rubber blocks 60, shown more particularly in Figure 4, having metallic or other rigid inserts 6| imbedded therein with suitable screws 62 extending through perforations 63 in the straight edge 25 and into the rubber blocks and their inserts 6|. The means 2'! may be positioned as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, and extend downwardly from the face 3| of the straight edge 25. They, of course, prevent accidental shifting of the straight edge both laterally and longitudinally.

In use, the operator places the straight edge on the surface he will inscribe, with the spar 52 raised, and the edges 3'1 and 55 of the spars flush with the upper edge of the sheet or the like, to be inscribed. If this edge is substantially normal to the paralleling side edges of the sheet, and the scribing device A is now positioned as in Figure 1, the first line of indicia will parallel the upper edge of the sheet. He then proceeds to inscribe the first line of indicia by means of the scribing device. When inscribed, he places a pair of dots or horizontal dashes in pencil in the proper recesses, as the two recesses 44, and then moves the straight edge downwardly until the vertical plane of its edge 28 extends to the dots or dashes. The scribing device is also moved downwardly to again contact the edge 21 A line, such as the dot-and-dash line 20, drawn from the edges 31 and 55 (with the spar 52 raised) would intersect the bottom of the second line of indicia (to be inscribed). Of course, the pairs of recesses 45 to 50 are adapted to guide the operator in placing dots or dashes therein, depending upon the height of the indicia (governed by the height of the character grooves of the template used) since, if the pairs of dots or dashes are placed in the two recesses 50, the assembly (scribing device A and guide B) will be lowered until the edge 28 reaches such dots or dashes and the distance between the bottoms of the upper and lower lines of indicia will be greater.

It will be noted in Figure 2 how the depending portion 40 is well above the surface beneath, yet does extend downwardly sufiiciently to enable the eye of the user to position the edges 55 and/or 37 correctly.

The spars 35, where they cross the straight edge 25, afford, if desired, a means to grasp the guide B and move it downwardly.

As for the modified form of guide B, this is, preferably, exactly like the preferred form B except that it is made (except for the means 21 and spar 52) of an integral strip or the like of suitable material, cut, stamped, moulded, or otherwise fashioned to shape, and means 21, like the means 21 of form B and the spar 52 of form B, attached. Similar reference characters for corresponding parts are employed in Figure 5, which illustrates a transverse section through the modified form, which form is employed exactly like the form B.

Various changes may be made to the forms of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a, guide for association with a scribing device, an elongated body portion, provided with top and bottom faces and upper and lower paralleling edges, a pair of arms with their longitudinal axes normal to the longitudinal axis of said body portion, extending outwardly beyond said upper edge and each having an outer end edge in a common vertical plane and substantially paralleling said upper and lower edges, and a pair of arms with their longitudinal axes normal to the longitudinal axis of said body portion, extending outwardly beyond said lower edge, each having opposite side edges, at least one side edge of each being provided with means to provide a guide for a scribing implement, comprising the walls of a scribing implement-receiving recess disposed a substantially like distance from said lower edge, said last-named arms being disposed below the plane of said bottom face.

2. In a guide for association with a scribing device, an elongated body portion, provided with top and bottom faces and upper and lower paralleling edges, a pair of arms with their longitudinal axes normal to the longitudinal axis of said body portion, extending outwardly beyond said upper edge and each having an outer end edge in a common vertical plane and substantially paralleling said upper and lower edges, said arms being disposed above the plane of said top face, and a pair of arms with their longitudinal axes normal to the longitudinal axis of said body portion, extending outwardly beyond said lower edge, each having opposite side edges, at least one side edge of each being provided with means to provide a guide for a scribing implement, comprising the walls of a scribing implement-receiving recess disposed a substantially like distance from said lower edge, said last-named arms being disposed below the plane of said bottom face.

3. In a guide for association with a scribing device, an elongated body portion, provided with top and bottom faces and upper and lower paralleling edges, a pair of arms with their longitudinal axes normal to the longitudinal axis of said body portion, extending outwardly beyond said upper edge and each having an outer end edge in a common vertical plane and substantially paralleling said upper and lower edges, said arms being dis- 5 6 posed above the plane of said top face, and a pair of arms with their longitudinal axes normal to REFERENCES CITED the longitudinal axis of said body portion, extend- The following references are of record in the ing outwardly beyond said lower edge, each having file of this patent: opposite side edges, at least one side edge of each 5 being provided with means to provide a guide for UNITED STATES PATENTS a scribing implement, comprising the walls of a Number Name Date scribing implement-receiving 'V-shaped recess 950,696 Herman Mar. 1, 1910 disposed a substantially like distance from said lower edge, said last-named arms being disposed 10 below the plane of said bottom face.

CHESTER F. MERRIMAN. 

